Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride...
I still remember watching Paradise Lost: The Child Murders At Robin Hood Hills and I remember it bothering me. It bothered me like nothing had ever bothered me before. Questions were always rolling around in my head as I watched Damien Echols (pictured above) and his friend Jason Baldwin going through that trial over and over and over again in my head. Something wasn't right about that entire trial and now, to me, three more lives blinked away and the only thing they seemed to have against them was local rumor, superstition, reputations and a host of so-called "evidence" that could have just as easily connected you to the murders of those three 8-year-old kids.
I finally was afforded the opportunity to watch Paradise Lost 2: Revelations last year. This year, I finally got my grubby lil claws on copies of Devil's Knot by Mara Leveritt and Almost Home: My Life Story vol 1 by Damien Echols. I'm not very far into his book yet. I wanted to get this straight from his perspective first. I've seen the perspective of others shot through editing and a camera's lens. Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger did raise some interesting questions but, as I watched the two movies, I still wonder what ended up on the cutting room floor. I'm not saying that I doubt, I'm just wondering what footage was cut out. Is it possible that it's long hours of nothing in particular? My initial reaction of something being dreadfully wrong with the trials still stands but one day, I hope to see everything that was filmed. It may be an unrealistic hope but I still hope nonetheless. Right...I'm off track.
So far, Damien has chronicled most of his childhood and into his teen years with the eyes of someone who appreciates his innocence enough to want it all back. He's gone as far as stating in his brief mention of how the West Memphis Police dealt with him, "I survived because if you push me hard enough, I become an asshole." I bring this into the light of day because I have to say only one thing to that; I can relate.
Damien has detailed the lonliness in his childhood, the completely dirt-broke life to which he'd been subjected and the suffering of poverty. There is light, however and much of it. The poverty-stricken life in which he was unceremoniously cast (and obviously not by choice) is pale in comparison to his even more detailed journey of self-discovery. He describes in great detail the little things that kept him from giving up completely as a kid even though despair and fear were at all sides and angles...it was all around him. Through the tragedy, we get a deeper insight into the joys of his world and what it was like clutching a radio, needing music more than anything, riding a skateboard for the first time or the camraderie between the few friends he had. He didn't have few friends because he was an unpopular kid, he had few friends because he moved around so much. Through the seemingly endless despair, he recalls many memories of magick, beauty and hope.
So far, I've been able to relate to a great deal about what he's written in the pages of Almost Home. There is however, a noticeable difference between myself and the author. While I remember a lot of the abuse and days of all-out (quite literally) clawing and crawling through self-destruction, Damien remembers times spent with friends sharing resources, pulling together and staying loyal, even through the murder trials.
Most people who know anything about this case knows that Jesse Misskelley Jr. gave a statement (boldly called a "confession") implicating Damien and Jason. Damien states in his book that he's not angry at Jesse. He said it's obvious to him that Jesse isn't the brightest bulb in the box and he wonders how Jesse didn't have a nervous breakdown. That, to me, is strength.
People, I'm not about to give this whole book away in detail. I won't. I will say that it is simply worth reading. After reading what I have of this book I realized that many claim I have a lot of insight into the world and it's inner workings. Now, I say that's bullshit.
I don't know a damned thing about how the world works. I don't know a damned thing about humans. They're all very backwards in ways of thinking to me. I don't know why they continue on paths of ultimate self destruction or why they tend to love the misery in which they've become entrenched. No, I'll not understand it. I don't know the cause of the cancer but I look at the cure with a bitter eye at times. Still, if you want an accurate demonstration of how to better clean it up, take a little insight from Damien's book. Many of my friends who've been down may never relate to his childhood but you may relate to him now.
I finally was afforded the opportunity to watch Paradise Lost 2: Revelations last year. This year, I finally got my grubby lil claws on copies of Devil's Knot by Mara Leveritt and Almost Home: My Life Story vol 1 by Damien Echols. I'm not very far into his book yet. I wanted to get this straight from his perspective first. I've seen the perspective of others shot through editing and a camera's lens. Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger did raise some interesting questions but, as I watched the two movies, I still wonder what ended up on the cutting room floor. I'm not saying that I doubt, I'm just wondering what footage was cut out. Is it possible that it's long hours of nothing in particular? My initial reaction of something being dreadfully wrong with the trials still stands but one day, I hope to see everything that was filmed. It may be an unrealistic hope but I still hope nonetheless. Right...I'm off track.
So far, Damien has chronicled most of his childhood and into his teen years with the eyes of someone who appreciates his innocence enough to want it all back. He's gone as far as stating in his brief mention of how the West Memphis Police dealt with him, "I survived because if you push me hard enough, I become an asshole." I bring this into the light of day because I have to say only one thing to that; I can relate.
Damien has detailed the lonliness in his childhood, the completely dirt-broke life to which he'd been subjected and the suffering of poverty. There is light, however and much of it. The poverty-stricken life in which he was unceremoniously cast (and obviously not by choice) is pale in comparison to his even more detailed journey of self-discovery. He describes in great detail the little things that kept him from giving up completely as a kid even though despair and fear were at all sides and angles...it was all around him. Through the tragedy, we get a deeper insight into the joys of his world and what it was like clutching a radio, needing music more than anything, riding a skateboard for the first time or the camraderie between the few friends he had. He didn't have few friends because he was an unpopular kid, he had few friends because he moved around so much. Through the seemingly endless despair, he recalls many memories of magick, beauty and hope.
So far, I've been able to relate to a great deal about what he's written in the pages of Almost Home. There is however, a noticeable difference between myself and the author. While I remember a lot of the abuse and days of all-out (quite literally) clawing and crawling through self-destruction, Damien remembers times spent with friends sharing resources, pulling together and staying loyal, even through the murder trials.
Most people who know anything about this case knows that Jesse Misskelley Jr. gave a statement (boldly called a "confession") implicating Damien and Jason. Damien states in his book that he's not angry at Jesse. He said it's obvious to him that Jesse isn't the brightest bulb in the box and he wonders how Jesse didn't have a nervous breakdown. That, to me, is strength.
People, I'm not about to give this whole book away in detail. I won't. I will say that it is simply worth reading. After reading what I have of this book I realized that many claim I have a lot of insight into the world and it's inner workings. Now, I say that's bullshit.
I don't know a damned thing about how the world works. I don't know a damned thing about humans. They're all very backwards in ways of thinking to me. I don't know why they continue on paths of ultimate self destruction or why they tend to love the misery in which they've become entrenched. No, I'll not understand it. I don't know the cause of the cancer but I look at the cure with a bitter eye at times. Still, if you want an accurate demonstration of how to better clean it up, take a little insight from Damien's book. Many of my friends who've been down may never relate to his childhood but you may relate to him now.
posted by Lord Genocyde at 2:47 PM
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